Unsung Heroes: The Shepherds Of Bethlehem

Introduction: the Christmas story, the birth of Jesus Christ into this world, is one of the most beautiful ever told. Many believers and others are more or less familiar with Mary and Joseph traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and how Jesus was born in an inn and laid in a manger because there wasn’t any room anywhere else. Too many people repeat that problem even now.

But there was one group of people, unsung heroes, who had the double privilege of seeing the “heavenly host” and the newborn King and Messiah, Jesus! These were some of the shepherds of Bethlehem, taking care of their flocks no doubt just like David had done many years before.

Text, Luke 2:8-20, KJV: 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Thoughts: comparing Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts, Mary and Joseph were probably alone when it came time for the Baby to be born. In one of his messages, Martin Luther commented about this event, wondering how a young virgin would even know what to do when it was time for the Child to be born—and even when Jesus was born, what would they do for clothing? Luther and others observed that Mary may have taken strips, torn from her own clothing to protect the Baby in the coolness of the night. There is no mention in the text that anyone was there to help, to provide clothing, or anything else: He, the Creator, came unto His own, and His own were not even there for His birth: they received Him not (John 1:11, paraphrased).

But Mary and Joseph were not left alone for long, apparently. One of God’s angels appeared to some shepherds, as they were keeping watch over their flocks by night. When these shepherds saw the angel, they were scared half to death, we might say! The angel told them, basically, “Stop being afraid, because I have some great news for you!” He said more, then a “multitude of the heavenly host” praising God (what a sound that would have been!)

Once the angels left, the shepherds maybe pulled themselves together and said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord showed us!” They went “with haste”, meaning about as fast as humanly possible, and sure enough, found Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus, lying in a manger, exactly as the angel had spoken. Apparently they were the first visitors to this young family!

And that wasn’t all. These shepherds didn’t keep the news to themselves—they “made known abroad” the words which they had heard about the Child. Not only were they the first visitors, but they were also the first evangelists, telling the people the Good News about the birth of Jesus, the newborn King and Messiah! Of course, how much they knew about this theologically is anybody’s guess, but they never forgot what they saw.

Even better, not only were they the first to see the Lamb of God in human form, they also saw the Good Shepherd of David (Psalm 23). Jesus Himself would say He was the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) and those who heard Him speak knew exactly what He was talking about.

These shepherds, these unsung heroes, all had names—but we don’t know any of their names. We don’t know how many of these shepherds were even working in Bethlehem’s fields when the heavenly host made themselves known. No matter: when they heard the news about Jesus, they went, and they witnessed what they had seen. We can do the same thing—sharing what we’ve seen and heard about Jesus, too. I hope we do exactly that.

Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)